I'm With You
by MyImmortal329
Summary: Carol is at a crossroads. Should she stay or should she go? Daryl isn't about to let her leave. Alternate take on Season 5's "Strangers" last Caryl scene. Rated M for mature audiences!


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters to The Walking Dead. They belong to the creators of the TV show and comic book series.

Author's Note: Takes place during Season 5 Episode 2 "Strangers," only Carol and Daryl aren't interrupted by the car driving by.

I'm With You

He watched her for a moment. She was fidgeting with something under the hood of the car. He could barely make out her weary form under the pale moonlight. His every sense seemed to be on edge tonight. His ears listened for walkers, but all that surrounded them tonight was silence. Even the crickets were sleeping

She seemed set on something, and he knew what it was. He'd left the church for all of two minutes to go outside and take a piss, and she'd slipped out. Lucky for the both of them, he was a skilled tracker.

No sooner had she shut the hood on the car than a walker started snarling from out of nowhere. Daryl's first instinct was to grab for his crossbow, but before he could move, Carol, without flinching, marched right up to it and stuck a knife between its eyes.

_That's my girl_, he thought, a little smile turning up at the corner of his mouth. When the walker dropped and Carol wiped off her knife, he figured it was as good a time as any to make his presence known. He walked out from the tree line, and she turned, as if she was expecting him all the time.

"What're you doin'?" he asked, eyeing her as she looked briefly back at the car. Her eyes glistened a little, but she didn't cry.

"I don't know," she murmured, as if she was standing at a crossroads, waiting for the moment to make her choice. Stay or go.

"C'mon," Daryl said with a nod toward the church. And that was it. She started to follow him. She took a few steps toward him but stopped.

"I can't," she said quietly. Daryl said nothing. He watched her turn and move back toward the car. _Follow her, dumbass, _his head screamed at him. So he did. They moved toward the car, and without speaking, they both leaned against it, facing out toward the road. She took a couple deep breaths, and Daryl noticed her hands trembling. He instinctively pulled his arm around her shoulders. She smiled a little and looked in his eyes. This was new.

"Still don't wanna talk about it?"

"Hmm," she said with a shake of her head. "No."

"I meant what I said. What happened, happened. It's done. We can start over."

"We," she said with a little chuckle. "There's a loaded word." He wasn't sure what she meant by that, so he kept his mouth shut. "I spent the evening in that church with those people, and I felt like I didn't belong. I'm not…I'm not feeling sorry for myself. It's just the truth. I don't belong. Everything's changed."

"You belong just as much as any of 'em. Hell, more probably. You saved their asses." Carol said nothing. Clearly she didn't want to talk about it. "Well, you ain't leavin'." Carol looked at him again, cocking her head to the side. She was used to demands coming from a man, but not in this way. She wasn't used to a man telling her that she was staying because he cared and wanted her safe.

"Daryl…"

"No! You ain't leavin' again. Not when I just got you back." It was out before his brain had a second to think about it. _What the fuck, you fuckin' idiot? Now you've done it. _"I mean, the group…" Carol turned to him in that minute, bringing her hands up to his face and pulling him into a hard kiss. He gasped against her mouth, his heart pounding as her fingers curled in the hair at the back of his neck. She was pressing into him now, and the car door handle was now sticking painfully into his ass cheek, but any fucks he may have given flew out of his head when she wrapped her arms around his neck and the kiss turned into something softer.

Her lips trembled as his hands moved down her shoulders and to her waist. When his fingers absentmindedly brushed the bare skin of her hip between her pants and her shirt, she giggled and broke the kiss. They said nothing and looked into each other's eyes. She was smiling, and his brain was having trouble remembering how to tell his lungs to function. Her eyes glinted with tears, and she sniffled and let out a little laugh, brushing the pad of her thumb over his lips. Daryl leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you," she murmured. _Thank you for giving me something to stay for_. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, and he didn't let go. She moved to stand next to him as she had been before, but this time, their fingers were laced together, and they gripped one another protectively.

"Gettin' late," he finally murmured after what seemed slightly longer than forever.

"Yeah," she replied, scuffing the toe of her boot in the dirt.

"Wanna go back?" She glanced over her shoulder at the car and then back up at Daryl. He knew what she was thinking, and while the survivor in him didn't quite like the idea, his dick sure did. He was semi-hard in his pants at the idea of spending the night in that car. Alone with her.

Without a word, Carol let go of Daryl's hand long enough to open the back door. She climbed in and held her hand out. Daryl glanced over one shoulder and then the other before sliding into the backseat with Carol, because, why the hell not? He closed the door as quietly as possible, and they sat there, thighs touching, neither seeming to know what to say.

He didn't really know if she wanted to sleep or to fuck, but he was ready for either. After what they'd gone through at Terminus that morning, he could probably sleep for a week straight. But, the erection that was painfully being contained by his pants was literally up for anything. It was going to have to be her call. But, to his embarrassment, the thought crossed his mind that the last time he'd had a girl in the back of her car, it had ended quite messily with her slapping him in the face for shooting on her new dress before they really had the chance to do much of anything.

"They'll come looking for us?" Carol asked, looking up at him and licking her lips. He was pretty sure his dick twitched in his pants at the thought of her mouth. He gripped the arm rest on the door, white-knuckling it in an effort to stop himself from taking her right then and there.

"No," he huffed, trying to keep his cool as his pants grew more uncomfortable by the second. "I told Rick I'd find ya, and we'd be back in the mornin'."

"You're pretty sure of yourself," she mused, a twinkle in her eye.

"Well, you ain't gone , are ya?" Carol laughed a little at that. She went to touch his thigh, and he groaned a little. Even in the darkness, she could see why. Her hand hesitated for a moment, and she bit her lip. "C'mere, woman."

"Okay, Pookie," she teased, maneuvering herself to straddle his lap.

"Stop," he grunted into her neck. She knew what he meant, but she started to move away from him anyway, a coy smile playing at her lips. He grabbed her hips. "Don't stop that." She leaned her forehead against his and laughed again, before he caught her lip with his own and kissed her hungrily.

As he kissed her, her hands rested on his chest. She could feel his heart hammering behind his ribs, and his breath hitched when her hand moved down to graze against his crotch. She pulled back from the kiss, but his lips sought out her neck, sucking the soft skin there, tasting the salt of her skin, feeling her pulse racing against his lips. This was new and different. This was him and Carol. There was a chance they were making a huge mistake, because who the hell knew what tomorrow would bring, but damn it, it felt good and it felt right and fuck everything else.

She moaned softly as he explored the flesh of her neck with his lips and tongue. Her nipples were hard little pebbles beneath her shirt now, and he could feel them as he pulled her against him.

"Lift your arms," he whispered against her chest. She did the best she could in the little room she had in the cramped back seat, but Daryl managed to slip the shirt over her head, and he silently thanked whatever possessed Carol to go braless today. He looked up into her eyes and she gave him a little nod, as if telling him it was alright. She leaned back slightly, her shoulders edging up against the headrest of the passenger's side front seat.

He explored her, gently at first, pressing soft kisses to her shoulders and chest. She moaned softly, burying her face in his hair. His coarse beard scraped against her skin. He sought out one breast and then the other, gently rolling one hard nipple between his teeth and then giving the same treatment to the other. Carol's hands squeezed his shoulders as his hands fumbled with the button on her pants. Carol's hips moved against his, and her panties grew damp from the simple friction between them. He was hard and straining in his pants, and her nether muscles contracted, preparing for him.

He finally opened the button on her pants and drew down the zipper. His hand paused just as he was about to dip it inside. He looked up at her, gauging her reaction.

"Go on," she encouraged, her voice airy and a little lower than he was used to; more commanding. "Touch me." She curled her fingers around his wrist and stuck his hand down her pants. The moment his fingers touched her, her hips bucked forward. Daryl's mouth watered at the feeling of her, hot and slick. The idea that he'd done that to her was just too much. His Carol.

His fingers moved slowly around, circling her sensitive flesh as her breaths came sharp and quick. Her arms were around his neck now, and she was holding onto him tightly. She leaned her head back, as he slipped one finger inside of her, exploring her slowly, watching her, wondering if it was good for her. When she bit her lip and sighed, a little moan coming out, his confidence grew, and he inserted another finger. His thumb was making little patterns on the soft folds of her flesh, but when her hips wiggled and a low moan he'd not been expecting came forth, he knew he was getting close to the sweet spot.

"Yeah," she breathed. "A little higher." He moved his had according to her instruction, and he knew he'd hit the spot when she slumped against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. She muffled her cries against him, and he worked his fingers faster inside of her. "Add another." He felt her stretch as he added the third finger. She moved against his hand, biting her lip to muffle her cries, as he fucked her with his fingers.

It took all she could do to unzip his pants and reach in. Her palms were damp with sweat, and when she wrapped her hand around his hard dick, pulling it out of his pants, she could have sworn he whimpered. He was perfect. She hadn't seen many dicks in her lifetime, unless the ones in those dirty magazines she'd hidden from Ed counted, but Daryl's was quite pleasing. She ran her thumb across the head, feeling a little drop of moisture against her thumb.

"Jesus…fuck!" Daryl growled out, leaning his head back against the seat as Carol stroked him, matching the pace he was currently using on her. She kissed him again. Testing the waters, she bit his lip gently before tasting his tongue. He tasted like sacramental wine. She squeezed him just a little as she pulled up on him. "Christ woman! You keep doin' that, and this'll be over 'fore it starts." Carol shushed him with a kiss, pumping him faster, slightly tightening her grip on him for closer friction. He fucked her harder with his fingers and felt her walls beginning to contract around him. Her breathing quickened, and she moaned a little louder. He caught her cries in his mouth, and when he felt a small stream coat his hand and felt her slump against him, he knew he'd gotten the job done.

Her hands were still on his dick when he started to move her off of him.

"But what about you?" she asked as he pulled away. His dick bobbed when she let go of him.

"Got plenty of time for that," he groaned. "'Sides, I gotta be inside you." The words made her wetter, and she bit the back of her hand as he lay back against the cramped seat. He pulled her pants and panties of quickly, discarding them on the floorboard. She let out a little whimper when the cool night air hit her hot flesh. He kissed her belly, wanting so badly to taste her but needing to bury himself inside of her even more now.

He almost shimmied out of his own pants, and Carol bit back a giggle at the sight. He eagerly pushed her legs apart and settled his hips between them. It had been too damned long for him, and, he figured, it had probably been even longer since a man had truly pleased her. He rocked his hips against hers, his dick gently prodding at her slick opening. She arched her back at the sensation, and he placed his hand on her belly, pushing her ass back down against the car seat.

"Daryl, please," she murmured, linking her fingers behind his neck and pulling him down to kiss her. He wrapped his hand around his dick and steadied himself, pushing into her ever so slowly, feeling her muscles stretch to accommodate him.

He sunk into her, muffling a pained growl against her lips as he fought the urge to come right then. He lay there, on top of her, inside of her, still and trembling, waiting for the wave to pass.

"You ok?" she asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Daryl?"

"Just…need a minute." She kissed his cheek and then his lips and then his jaw, and her hips rose, filling herself with him even more. "God, Carol. I'm gonna…"

"Sorry," she whispered, her fingers raking down his back to keep her composure. She felt pretty sure that she'd just ripped a hole in his shirt and made a mental note to mend it for him later. But she didn't have much time to think about anything else before he began to move, slowly at first, pumping inside of her, making her feel things she'd never felt before. With Ed, it had been all about his needs. In and out. No foreplay, no gentle kisses or caresses. With Daryl, it was so much more. He looked down into her eyes, and he was just as vulnerable as he'd been in the woods when he'd run to her and held her in his arms in front of everyone, tears of joy clouding his eyes at the mere sight of her safe and back. With him.

"Where are you?" he asked, noticing the distant, thoughtful look in her eyes. She smiled a little and stroked his face when he brought her back.

"I'm right here." She kissed him and relaxed, letting the feeling wash over her.

Daryl took his time at first, kissing her and caressing her, making her feel good, safe. But the more her muscles began to contract around him, the harder it was for him to hold on. So, he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her closer, and he pushed the other hand against the window, giving himself more leverage. Carol hooked her knee over his hip, and they sunk into each other. Daryl moved inside of her, picking up the pace as his desperation grew.

Carol's hand moved down his back, grazing over his bare ass and giving it a little squeeze. She was getting closer now. Daryl groaned as he felt her sticky, wet fluids soak over his dick. He let go of her waist and brought his hand down between them, caressing her folds as he moved within her. She gasped and arched her back against the car seat. He kissed her again, feeling her ragged breaths hit his lips in little puffs. Her inner walls were squeezing him, and he placed his forehead against hers, squeezing his eyes shut so tight he saw white. Her hands were everywhere, driving him crazy. She caressed his back, his shoulders and even reached down to stroke his lower belly, just above his pelvis. His skin jumped at the touch.

"Jesus," he grunted, stroking her clit harder as he pumped inside of her. She reached down and grabbed his hand away, her body trembling. She linked her fingers with his, which were still slippery with her fluids.

His tongue moved against hers, loving her, and she moaned a little louder against his mouth. They moved together, biting cries into shoulders, muscles straining, hearts racing, and then he slowed, releasing inside of her, filling her.

He slumped on top of her, and she caressed his face, pushing his damp hair back and out of his eyes. She bit her lip and grinned up at him.

"Sheepdog," she murmured, feeling light as a feather.

"You sayin' somethin' about my hair?" he panted.

"Nah," she whispered, kissing his forehead. "I like your long hair. Daryl stared down at her, the little smile fading from his lips. He caressed her cheek and stared down into her beautiful eyes, his heart still hammering away. She noticed his change of expressing as he lay over her, still buried inside of her, soft and spent. "Daryl? What's going on?"

"Nothin'," he murmured, dipping down to kiss her again. He liked kissing her. Hell, if he was being honest, he loved fucking her and hoped to be able to do it again soon. "Just…" She nodded her head.

"I know. I know." She traced her thumb along his brow. "Me too. " She knew the words would come, but for now, she knew how they felt. It was enough right now. He slid out of her, stuffing himself back into his pants as he pulled them up his hips. He did up the zipper but left the button undone, which Carol found sexy as hell. Like a gentleman, he helped her sit up, and she pulled her own pants back up.

"You ok?" he asked, as they put themselves back together.

"Yeah," she said, reaching for his hand, giving it a little squeeze. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles softly. She sighed and went to peer out the window, only to find the windows were completely steamed up. She looked at him and they both let out a laugh.

"You wanna go back?" he questioned as she leaned her head against the cool glass. She shook her head and turned back to him.

"I'm ok here tonight," she replied. "You?"

"I'm with you," he replied. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips and snuggled up against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Not gonna let you out of my sight again."

"Good," she whispered, letting herself relax enough to feel the pull of sleep washing over her. "Good."


End file.
